Economic Growth Forecast Is Unchanged From Last Year at 7.5%, but Leaders Show New Concern on Reaching Goal

BEIJING—China's leaders kept the growth target for their giant economy unchanged but signaled that they are more concerned than ever about reaching it, giving themselves the option of letting credit flow freely to keep from falling short.

The suggestion of more lending to buoy growth—despite repeated recent efforts to rein in debt—is the latest sign of government unease that a slipping economy could trigger higher unemployment and...